Tag: Translations

The blogger Biblibio posted a call to arms in this December 9th post Where In the World Are Women Writers? and the follow-up Women in translation – responses. After informally crunching the numbers he/she came to the conclusion that less than 30% of the literature translated into English is written by women. After reviewing my reading history I came up with results that were startlingly similar. Leading to the obvious question: What the hell is going on?!

I can’t speak for the publishing world as a whole, but I can unequivocally state that I do not seek out male over female authors. Keeping that in mind I went back and tried to determine how the books I read this last year first came to my attention. The result was a mixed bag of publishers, podcasters, book critics, bloggers, booksellers and Goodreads. In other words, useless.

But, just when I was getting my indignation on in defense of the feminine gender, it was brought to my attention by a recent episode of the BBC Radio 4 Open Book Podcast that the majority of literary prizes in English for 2012-2013 were won by women authors. Alice Monro (Nobel), Hilary Mantel (too many to list), Lydia Davis (Man Booker International), Eleanor Catton (Man Booker), Angela Jackson (Edinburgh Festival First Book)… you can see the entire list on the Open Book website. In fact, women have made a strong showing overall on the long and short lists of all the major English language literary prizes this past year.

Obviously, this doesn’t in any way refute or reverse Biblibio’s findings. Yet it does reinforce my belief that this disparity is not happening intentionally. Publishers care about selling books and publishing good literature (hopefully not in that order). It’s doubtful that they have any investment (emotional or otherwise) in an author’s gender. My hope is that what we are dealing with is residual gender bias from the 20th century… a habit easily kicked if readers are willing to make the effort. And more importantly, if those of us who review are willing to get the word out. Because if they sell publishers will take notice.

Case in point: who knew that the Scandinavians were so into crime (or, let’s face it, could name the 3 Scandinavian countries off the top of their head?) before The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?

Now, I realize that in some circles “quotas” is a dirty word. But they have frequently been proven effective. So I propose this informal challenge to fellow readers, bloggers and reviewers: in 2014 challenge yourself to read a set number of books in translation written by women – and then review them. The review part is key. Whether on a blog, as a contributor to a traditional media outlet or on Goodreads it’s important to give these authors a little marketing nudge.

Hmmm… this could merit a hashtag. Something I’m terrible at. Anyone?

This year my personal goal is to read and review 52 books – one per week. Half by women. I intend to alternate – every book by a male author will be followed by a female author, and vice versa. With a modicum of planning this shouldn’t be difficult to implement.

Until I started actively seeking books in translation I had no idea of the incredible literature from around the world I’d been missing out on. Now I look at my bookshelves and see authors whose names, three years ago, I didn’t know. I can’t wait to see who gets added in the year ahead.

I always try to post updates on the more interesting literary awards – all the Man (International, Booker & Asian) Literary Prizes, the Nobel Prize for Literature, etc. But, as wonderful as those longlists tend to be, they seldom inspire the absolute, all-consuming, bank account-deflating, oh-my-god-where-am-I-going-to-put-more-books-I-don’t-care book lust as the lists I’m here to talk about today: The Best Translated Book Award and The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.

Obviously, these are the books I enjoy reading – translations, international authors, and authors whose work you tend not to find on the B&N feature table. The one downside has been that, as a rule, I’ve been painfully ignorant of the books, authors and translators that have been nominated in past years. This year is different. I can actually intelligently give my opinion on some of these novels and authors!

The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (IFFP) is a UK based prize, but even when the books aren’t available in paper format in the U.S. I’ve been able to find them digitally. It tends, in my opinion, to contain titles that are popular with general readers vs. the Best Translated Book Award which is, also in my opinion, heavily weighed towards the more esoteric books released that year by independant & small presses. I’ve only read two (and bought five) of the books on the 2012 IFFP longlist, so where I could find them I’ve linked to other bloggers’ reviews.

Of the two I’ve read: Laurent Binet’s HHhH is the more controversial book. Readers and critics either love it or absolutely hate it. I loved it and personally felt that James Wood’s negative review in the New Yorker – which, let’s face it, shaped a lot of readers opinions going in – spent more time on Wood’s problems with the author than it did on critiquing the actual book. It will probably make the shortlist, but I doubt it will win.

This is Alain Mabanckou’s second time being nominated – and I’m just finishing up Black Bazaar. I really enjoy Mabanckou’s books (and love saying his name out loud): they’re funny and smart. Because he’s been shortlisted once before I’m fairly certain he’ll make the shortlist again. Still, Black Bazaar is still a dark horse to win – if only because it’s lighthearted in comparison with past winners.

Of the books I haven’t read, Ismail Kadare is a favorite author. Unfortunately, The Fall of the Stone City is not available digitally in the states. And Bundu by Chris Barnard is definitely a book I’d be interested in. The plot involves drought refugees at a Mozambique aid station who hatch a desperate plan. I’m hoping to read it before the final winner is announced.

Have you read or reviewed any of the longlisted books? Share you thoughts and predictions in the comments!

What’s the verdict, readers? Pleased? Disappointed? Just confused? I wish I could speak to these lists more, but all I can say is that I’m glad to see that both Umberto Eco and Sjón moved on to the next round of the Foreign Fiction Prize. SO…

I have a proposition: If you’ve read any of the books shortlisted for either prize, tell us what you think in the comments below. If you’re a blogger and have a review up for one of the finalists, leave the link. Or, if you’re in that kind of mood, feel free to bitch about your favorite book being overlooked.

As the gears of the Mayan calendar slowly grind to a stop, I find it’s best to keep our minds off the impending apocalypse. And what better distraction than a list of books from around the world – all due to be published before November, of course. (You know, just in case you’re stockpiling early and have some room leftover in your end-of-the-world backpack).

February

Varamo by César Aira (translated from the original Spanish), published by New Directions – In the interest of full disclosure: I’ve already read this one and can’t wait to share! I’ve been completely hooked on Aira since reading Ghosts a few months ago. And it’s not just the prose and quirky stories (which are, of course, wonderful). The New Directions editions are small, 5″ x 7″ paperback books with lovely covers that inspire book lust of the best kind. I’m slowly building a collection of all their Aira titles.

March

The Cyclist Conspiracy by Svetislav Basara (translated from the original Serbian), published by Open Letter Books – I’ve been eying this book in the Open Letter catalog for over six months. It’s finally coming out in March. What’s the draw? There’s a Sherlock Holmes connection and a wacky science fiction component. Here’s a bit of description from the Open Letter website:

The Cyclist Conspiracy tells the tale of a secret Brotherhood who meet in dreams, gain esoteric knowledge from contemplation of the bicycle, and seek to move in and out of history, manipulating events…

April

Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou (translated from the original French?), published by Soft Skull Press – To tide us over while we wait, impatiently, for Black Bazar to come the U.S. (it’s currently available in English through Serpent’s Tail in the UK). Not that I’m complaining. I’m more than happy to content myself with this novel, which won the Prix Renaudot. It’s the story of a young Congolese boy who discovers his “spirit animal” is a porcupine. The two become partners in crime – committing acts of violence and murder. As the title suggests – Memoirs of a Porcupine is the porcupine’s confession as to the part he played.

Children in Reindeer Woods by Krístin Ómarsóttir (translated from Icelandic), published by Open Letter Books – I discovered this novel while I was compulsively checking the release date of The Cyclist Conspiracy on Open Letter Books’ website. A fable, reminiscent of Italo Calvino, it’s about a small girl named Billie who discovers ‘Children in Reindeer Woods’. A “temporary home for children”. But the home is in the center of a war zone. When the home is attacked and everyone killed, Billie must learn to live with a troubled soldier turned farmer.

May

Manual of Painting & Calligraphy by Jose Saramago (translated from Portuguese), published by Mariner – Saramago’s first novel. And, really, if I need to say more than that…

The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (translated from Persian), published by Melville House – I am soexcited about this novel! Nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize, written by a prolific Iranian author, The Colonel is described as taking place “over the course of a single night, the novel follows the Colonel as he pays a bribe to recover his daughter’s body and then races to bury her before sunrise”. I’ve been wanting to dive into Melville House’s catalog for ages. And after reading Lisa’s review over at ANZ Litlovers I knew I had to read it. Challenging and intriguing – that’s a combination I can’t walk a way from.

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Last but not least – I don’t know when these two books are coming out in the U.S…. or who’ll be publishing them… or if they’ll be here in time… All we can do is cross our fingers and keep our eyes open.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos (original Spanish), published by Central Books And Other Stories in the UK Update: Thanks to @andothertweets and @FSG_Books we now know that Down the Rabbit Hole comes out in the U.S. in October 2012, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (original German), published by Random House Germany